Billion-dollar investment from Saudi Arabia being actualized: Tarar

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information, Broadcasting, National Heritage and Culture Attaullah Tarar on Wednesday said a number of Memoranda of Understandings (MoUs) signed between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia this year for billion of dollars of investment have been actualized, boosting the national economy and creating job opportunities in the country.

The minister revealed the information in a news conference following the successful visit of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to Saudi Arabia where he attended the One Water Summit and held meetings with the global leaders, including Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and President of France Emmanuel Macron.

Tarar said PM Shehbaz had returned from Saudi Arabia today (Wednesday) after a brief but successful and significant visit.

In the last six months, he said the prime minister had held five meetings with the Saudi Crown Prince that reflected a significant boost in the Pak-Saudi relations that had touched new heights. “It also validates the 28 MoUs signed between the two countries during the recent visits of high-level Saudi delegations that are on the ground and actualizing,” he added.

The minister cited the opening of Aramco Petrol Pumps in different cities of Pakistan as an outcome of these billion dollars investment from Saudi Arabia. The process for the launch of Al-Baik food chain in Pakistan was also underway, he added. He said the leadership of Saudi Arabia, in the last night meeting, had expressed their delight and satisfaction over the actualization of MoUs signed between the two countries in diverse sectors, including agriculture, mines and minerals, energy and IT skills.

Tarar cited the Crown Prince as saying that “Pakistanis are our brothers and sisters, and there is no limit for investment in Pakistan.” He said: “Yesterday meeting of the prime minister with the Crown Prince was a historic event and a milestone in the bilateral relations of the two countries.”

He said during the meeting, both the countries’ leadership agreed on enhancing relations in the areas of economy, business and investment to further strengthen their exemplary relations.

Tarar said the prime minister had expressed good wishes for the Khadim al-Haramayn al-Sharifan also. He said PM Shehbaz Sharif had not only advanced Pakistan’s foreign policy, but also revived and stabilized the economy, for which he was being appreciated by the global leaders.

Under the leadership of PM Shehbaz, he said, the stock market had crossed 100,000 points, interest rate and KIBOR stood at 15 per cent and 13 per cent, respectively, and on top of that inflation had plummeted to 4.8 percent which has broken all previous records.

On the other hand, he said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf had decimated the economy and harmed Pakistan’s relations with brotherly countries.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday returned home after winding up his two-day visit to Saudi Arabia where he addressed the One Water Summit.

At the summit, he presented a six-point agenda to overcome water-related challenges and highlighted the climate change-induced challenges faced by the developing countries.

On the sidelines of the summit, Prime Minister Shehbaz met Saudi Prime Minister and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud.

The prime minister also met French President Emmanuel Macron in which two sides agreed to promote business-to-business cooperation in the fields of agriculture, livestock, information technology, vocational skills and clean drinking water.